‘All options open’ to counter Israeli seizure of Palestinian lands, senior official says

The Palestinian leadership is considering "all options," including going to international courts, to prevent the Israeli annexation of Palestinian lands, a senior official said Monday.

"All options are open, including resorting to international courts, to protect Palestinian land from Israeli confiscation and annexation," Deputy Foreign Minister Omar Awadallah told Anadolu.

He said the Palestinian leadership is moving at the "Arab, Islamic and international levels" to confront Israel's decision to register the West Bank land as "state property."

"Israel has no sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territory," Awadallah said. "The only sovereignty belongs to the State of Palestine."

On Sunday, the Israeli government on Sunday approved a proposal allowing the seizure of Palestinian land in the West Bank by registering it as "state property," marking the first such step since Israel occupied the territory in 1967.

According to Channel 7, the measure includes opening land registration procedures that were previously frozen, canceling a Jordanian-era law banning the sale of land, and disclosing land records that had remained confidential for decades.

Palestinians view the measures as a prelude to the formal annexation of the West Bank, moves they say would undermine the two-state solution framework endorsed by the UN.

In a landmark opinion in July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.